1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a four wheeled vehicle with an air-intake apparatus for an engine for supplying combustion air to the engine and, particularly to a four wheeled vehicle for leisure which is mainly suitable for traveling on irregular terrain.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 10 shows one example of a conventional four wheeled vehicle for leisure. The vehicle is provided with a cabin 110 surrounded by a cabin frame 111 between a pair of right and left front wheels 101 and a pair of right and left rear wheels 102. A seat 104 is installed in the cabin 110, and an engine 105 is arranged on the lower side of the seat 104. A bonnet 112 is provided on the front side of the cabin 110, and the bonnet 112 covers the upper side of a bonnet chamber 113.
An air-intake apparatus for supplying combustion air to the engine 105 includes an air-intake chamber 115 arranged on the upper side of the engine 105, an air-intake duct 120 connected to the air-intake chamber 115, an air cleaner 122 connected to the air-intake duct 120 and the like. The air-intake duct 120 goes down from an upper position relative to the engine 105 to a floor face 121 of the cabin 110, extends forward along the floor face 121, and reaches to the interior of the bonnet chamber 113. A front part of the air-intake duct 120 stands up in the bonnet chamber 113, and the air cleaner 122 is provided in an upper end of the air-intake duct 120. An air taking portion 122a of this air cleaner 122 opens toward the front side in the bonnet chamber 113. A literature of a related art includes Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 1987-205822.
In the four wheeled vehicle in which the engine 105 is accommodated in the cabin 110 as shown in FIG. 10, major accommodated members or apparatuses to be accommodated in the bonnet chamber 113 are the front part of the air-intake duct 120, the air cleaner 122, a radiator (not shown) and the like, and the lower side of the bonnet chamber 113 is almost entirely open. Therefore, during traveling, mud, sand, water or other foreign substances which are splashed by the front wheels 101 easily come into the air cleaner 122 from the air taking portion 122a. The mud or the like is accumulated on or adhered to the interior of the air cleaner 122. Therefore, there is a case where clogging is generated in a filter element of the air cleaner 122 for a short time, and hence frequency of maintenance and replacement is increased.
The air-intake duct 120 of the four wheeled vehicle shown in FIG. 10 once goes down from an upper part of the engine 105 to the vicinity of the floor face 121 of the cabin 110 or the lower side thereof, extends forward along the floor face 121, and then extends upward to the vicinity of the bonnet 112 in the bonnet chamber 113. Thus, an air-intake route from the air taking portion 122a to an air-intake port of the engine 105 is extended, and air flow resistance is increased so as to cause a decrease in output of the engine.